World War II Lessons That We're Still Fighting
Summer of 1966
I had been working
Since I turned eighteen
As an apprentice pressman
It was summertime in San Francisco
I got to work full time so in the Fall
I could afford to work part-time
And go to college
My dad had been
A newspaper pressman
Since he returned home
From WW II in the Pacific
He got me my job at the Chronicle
That was how you got union jobs
You had to know someone
Who was already working there
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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^^^ An Idiom I Wouldn't Have Guessed In a Month of Sundays
Sitting in a coffee shop
Early the other morning
Getting started for my day
I almost dropped my cup
I was reading the paper
About health insurance costs
Stock market dives
And sub-prime credit woes
When one of the guys
In the booth behind me
Leaned over to his friend and quietly said
I guess not expecting me to hear
I swear to God
His exact words were
And I quote
'My dick's fallen off.'
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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Detour
Where would they have gone
If they had not driven off that day
Down the Redwood Highway
As far as where, until that morning,
The two southbound lanes
Had been supported by a bridge?
There were no 'DETOUR AHEAD' signs
Except for the slight shaking and
The rhythmic rocking of their car.
'What's that? she asked.
'I think we're getting a flat, '
Was his response until
He realized his headlights
Had stopped seeing
The reflectors and road lines.
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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In His Day
I don't recall what I saw first
His face of his boots
Both were old and battered
State-issued brown high-tops
One held together
By a thin torn strip
Of bed sheet wrapped and tied
Around the sole and top of the toe
It showed more
Signs of wear
Than the other boot
That seemd much newer
Leading me to believe
They had been acquired
At different times
How did they get mismatched
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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A Short Leap (you would think for a mature audience)
Summer of 1966 I was
Just out of high school
Newspaper web press apprentice
For the San Francisco Chronicle
Working one night I overheard
Several journeymen
Talking about
If they could
Get up enough money
Get the bets up high enough
Buy him a couple of drinks
See if he really could do it
They wanted to talk
This other jouneyman into
Proving what
He'd been bragging about
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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Dance, Dance, Dance, 'til You Can Dance No More
As I drove 'cross town today
To get my Holiday shopping under way
With my car radio tuned in
Classic Rock - - let the dance begin
On comes a Don Henley from 1985
- -'All She Wants to Do Is Dance'- -
Up comes the volume
Down comes all four car windows
Take that you hip-hoppers
Wish I had my old speakers
From my '66 Malibu
Then the lyrics struck me
Maybe I've been watchin'
Too many presidental debates
Maybe just too much CNN
Twenty-four hours a day
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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Looking for Encouragement in ICU
He's gone
I never saw him go
Surprised that he fell
I thought he would get up
At first he looked like he'd be OK
He was upset that he'd slipped
Confused that the legs hadn't held
The strength that steadied
The foot and braced the legs
Held at the smoker in 1932
When three solid lefts
Couldn't take him down
Held when the Hammond trim saw kicked
Held on the wet rocks of Redwood Creek
When the salmon jumped and were on
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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Soccer: My Best Foot Too Far Forward
I have to go back a bit
To tell this story
Freshman year of college
PE classes were mandatory
Somehow each semester
You had to fit one in
To the burden of other classes
You had to carry gym
It was only for an hour
Twice or so a week
Cut too often and
You were up a creek
Hours in registration lines
No on-line to be on yet
Dennis and I checked our schedules
For an open slot that met
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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Thought Frost Could Not Surprise Me
Robert Frost is one of the ones
That got me started
When the only poems I would read
Had to be assigned
'Read pages 21 to 28 and
on Monday be prepared
to discuss campare and contrast.'
Yeah - yeah more homework
Thank God Robert was in there
Somewhere between
Pages 21 to 28
I don't recall which one grabbed me
But he had me looking for more
On my own nothing due by Friday
We talked about doubt and
Dealing with death 'OUT, OUT-'
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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Working Out of a Corner Office
I thought I started out strong
After taking many body blows
My guard began to drop
It felt like - -my head being snapped back
I keep moving while holding on
Waiting for the bell
Once seated in my corner
My cut man
Goes to work
Cotton swabs and alum
Attempting to stem the red flow
From above my right eye
He presses on my face
With a piece of ice-cold steel
Trying to keep the swelling down
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poem by Tom J. Mariani
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